Burned Blood
by Kaz Gemcity
Summary: Michael needs help from someone he doesn't know. When they meet, she is not exactly what he expected. He doesn't really like her but needs her help none the less. Will he live through her games?
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N- Based on a small disagreement between friends. I am going to win, this is just proving my point. May be more that a one-shot if you guys like it enough._**

_The best way to deal with something you know nothing about is to find someone who knows something about what you are trying to do._

I walked down the streets of the crowded Miami mall area. To my left and to my right were tables, most filled with teenage girls, gossiping I assumed.

"Robert sooo should not have played Edward." One girl was saying, while her friend shook her head.

"But who else would have! He looks the part." She said in response.

"Taylor looks more his part. I love it when he does the whole-wherewolf-with-no-shirt thing." The first girl said, giggling. I shook my head in amazement.

_There are several things that scare regular, forty year old men, Most of them don't apply to spies. We are not scared of guns, or being robbed, or our wife cheating. But there is one fear all men have in common. Teenage girls. The meanest, cruelest person I have ever met is five foot four and fifteen years old. I have literally met warlords who are kinder. But sometime you do what you gotta do._

I stopped short when one of the girls, who was in a group of about five, stepped into my path.

"Excuse me." I said politely, trying to move around her.

"You must be Michael." She said, examining a chip in her bright blue nail polish and not letting me pass.

"Nope." I said, smiling charmingly and attempting to walk away again.

"I'm Rose." She told me, looking up and grabbing my wrist. She looked into my eyes and I had the strange feeling that she knew more about me than she was letting on. I turned slowly, so that I was face to face with her, watching out of the corner of my eyes as her friends stood.

"You're Rose?" I demanded, not believing a word that came out of this girl's mouth. She nodded.

"This is Madi, Vicky, Veronica, and Sarah." Rose pointed out each girl in turn.

_Not everything is always at it seems. If a girl says that she is the leading expert on something, but she is only fifteen, sometimes your best bet it to hear her out._

"So, Rose, I still don't know why you stopped me. I have a meeting to get to." She rolled her eyes at me.

"We should talk somewhere more private, Rose." Vicky whispered in Rose's ear, who nodded and began to walk away. After a few paces, she looked aver her shoulder at me.

"Aren't you coming, Michael?" She demanded, her voice sickly sweet.

"I don't think so. Like I said, I have a previous engagement." I said. Rose stalked up to me.

"If I screamed right now, every police officer in Miami would come running. Who do you think they are going to believe if I claim sexual abuse? Michael Westen will be smiling for the cameras." She hissed in my ear, and I knew that she was right. Rose smiled at me and walked away, well aware that every male eye was following her. I sighed and fell into step beside her, putting on my sunglasses and a smile.

"You know, I have heard of children in small Russian farming towns who run and hide under their beds when they see a charming smile and a pair of sunglasses." Rose told me, looking up to gauge my reaction. I tried hard not to show my surprise.

"Is that so?" I asked, conversationally. She nodded to Madi, who opened the door, to what appeared to be a small yogurt store. Not everything is what it appears to be.

"Welcome to Miami, Michael." Rose said. her voice sent chills up my spine. I looked around in well-disguised amazement. The walls where white. The floor was white. Everything was blindingly white. I was glad that I had my sunglasses on.

"Where the hell am I?" I demanded, my voice betraying my surprise. Rose smiled, evidently pleased with herself.

"Miami. Florida. Earth." She looked at my frown.

"Oh, you mean where are you now, huh? We call this place Miami. It is out headquarters. " She said, motioning her friends back out to the mall. Then it was only us.

"So, Rose..." I began, unsure what to say to this young girl. She looked me up and down, again, as if she was memorizing every detail of my face.

"Before we begin, I need you to read and sign these forms. They basically say that you will tell no one who I am, what I do, how you met and/ or heard of me, ect." Rose handed me a thick stack of white papers with several dotted lines that demanded my signature.

_It is best to avoid doing anything that might compromise later cover IDs. So make it up as you go along. Never use your real name and always have a story behind you._

I took the papers from her hand. _Michael McBride._ I scribbled in messy cursive at every line. Rose took the papers and raised her eyebrows at the name that I had put.

"Michael McBride? Really Michael, don't you think that cover is a little overused? I know a very upset Mr. O'Neil who is looking for a Michael McBride. Maybe you want to reconsider." Rose handed me a new stack of the same forms. I thought for a minute before signing _Jimmy Glinn. _Rose read it over again.

"What would Victor think, Michael. I don't think he liked Jimmy very much." I frowned, as she handed me a new stack of forms.

_Father Peter. _"When did you become a priest, Michael? I think pretending to be on is a federal crime." I growled at her and pushed the papers away.

"I am done with this." I spit, angrily, turning on my heal and marching away.

"You don't have photo identity, do you Michael?" She asked, her voice calm and cool. I don't stop walking.

"You know all about me, it seems. Do I?" I demand, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I believe you have on under the name Dwaign Wingger. I will accept that." Rose tells me, pushing yet another stack of papers at my retreating form and holding out her hand for the ID that she says I have. I pause for a moment. She is right that I do still have that driver's license, it hasn't been flagged, yet, and I really do need her help. I stop and turn slowly. Rose smells victory and a closed mouth smile graces her face again. I pull my wallet out of my pocket and slid the small square of plastic into her hand. I scribbled my 'name' across the forms.

"Thank you, Michael, um Mr. Winnger." She rolls her eyes.

"I am still going to call you Michael." She decrees. I roll my eyes at her.

"Rose, if we could get to business..." I trail off, leaving the end of my sentence to her.

"Ah, yes. One of Michael Westen's clients needs thy razor sharp mind and fists of fury." I looked her up and down. There was no way she could know that I was thinking of what Victor had said to me at that moment.

"Something like that. Yeah." I said, backing away minutely.

"And you need my help?" Rose asked humor in her tone. I nodded my head, tired of playing her game.

"So you need help with the hairy guys, huh? That's Veronica's area of expertise." She nodded to herself and then looked up at the look on my face.

"No. Okay then, the spookies? You'll need Madi's help with them." Rose specified and again looked up from the thick book she had grabbed off a shelf behind her.

"Hmm, no again. The green dudes? That's Sarah." She didn't seem to find the answer she wanted on my face.

"No? Really? Okay then, spell-casters? That's Vicky." I grabbed Rose's face when she looked to study my face this time.

"I don't need help with werewolves, ghosts, zombies, or witches." I growled, my eyes flashing. Rose looked shocked.

"That means you need help with... That's my area. You couldn't possibaly know that... How could you..?" Rose sputtered before getting herself under control.

"Well you really are Michael Westen, aren't you?" She asked, calm, cool, and collected again.

"Yes and I need help with a..." I was cut off my Rose. She smiled and showed me her teeth for the first time. They were sharp points, the tips tinged red. She filled in the last word of my sentence.

"Vampire."


	2. Chapter 2

"Calm down, Rose." I muttered, as the said girl rummaged through my shelves, looking for a jar of peanut butter. After more than a month of partnership, Rose and her all-knowing eyes had ceased to disturb me. I no longer jumped when she came up silently behind me, no longer stared when her eyes flashed red, no longer frowned when she seemed to read my mind or jump impossible heights.

"I can't just _calm down_, Michael. It has been more than a month and Ginger has yet to show herself again. She should be attacking you left and right, your client too. It is not normal that she drop off the face of the planet. _None_ of my people have seen her anywhere. No sightings, no tracks, no goddamned sent trails. Nothing!" She hissed angrily.

"And peanut butter is going to help with finding her?" I asked sarcastically, not moving from my relaxed perch on the stairs.

"Yes. That is exactly what it is going to happen." She bit back at me, her sarcasm matching mine word for word.

"Oh, is that so? Then by all means, continue to tear apart my kitchen." I smirked cheekily. Rose rolled her eyes and turned back to the cabinet above the fridge. My eye caught on something red as she reached up again. My eyes widened and I found that I couldn't speak, not even to warn her. As if reading my stress on the air, Rose spun quickly, her eyes locked on mine.

"What's wrong, Michael?" She asked, all hints of sarcasm and banter stripped from her voice. I stood up woodenly and pushed her out of my way. My arms reached into the cabinet without my consent. Numb I pulled out the small glass jar that had caught my attention. Inside thousands of blood-red rubies flashed in the late afternoon sun streaming through the open balcony door.

Rose stumbled backward, almost falling to the floor in her haste to get away from the offending object in my hands. Her eyes were wide and red, not just flashes of the bright color now, but laced with it.

"Shit." Was the only explanation she offered, but I did not need one. Without putting down the priceless gems, I turned to the sink. Running the water has hot as I could, I filled up the sink. Only when the water was steaming and about to overflow, did I turn of the faucet. Gently I lowered the jar into the water. Both Rose and I let out a sigh of relief as it was submerged. Once in the water, the rubies stopped flashing in the sun, and dulled to a angry maroon.

"Thank you. Michael." Rose said, finally moving off the floor where she had fallen. I nodded and sat stiffly down on my bed.

"What would have happened?" I asked quietly. I knew that the rubies were deadly to Rose, the one thing that could hurt her, but I did not know what could happen.

"You know that every vampire has one thing that they cannot survive right? It is the one material thing you have to surrender in order to change." She looked up at me and I nodded.

"Well mine is rubies. Before I changed, more than a hundred years ago, I lived with my mother. Her passion was stones. She would go on exotic trips across the world to find a gem that she didn't have. Garnet, emerald, diamond, topaz, sapphire, she had them all. But her favorite was ruby. She would pay hundreds, and thousands of dollars for rubies of all shapes and sizes. Her greed for them is what killed her. Ruby Anne, they called my mother." Rose seemed lost in thought. She looked like I wasn't there, she was talking into space. I prayed that no one would attack us right now, Rose would have no chance of fighting anything off right now.

"She wanted a ruby that Mr. Goodman owned. She went to visit him to look at it. Three hours away. When she saw it, she fell in love, and devised a plan to make it hers." As she always did in stressful situations, Rose slipped into an English accent. Without realizing it, and without moving, Rose had traveled across hundreds of miles, and a hundred years, in just a few seconds.

"She looked Mr. Goodman in the eye and told him his prized gem was fake. A good fake, but the fake nonetheless. He was appalled and thrust it into her hands, saying that a man of his stature would not be known to own a fake stone. He was high up in the town government, but by bribery. A true ganster. When he found out the Ruby Anne had tricked him, he was furious. Ordered a hit. She was killed with a single shot to the heart. They say her blood was as red as the stones she loved, and even when the blood ran out of her body, her lips remained red, stained with the powder of the rubies that she used in her lipstick." Rose gave a delicate shutter, but her story was not done.

"When I changed, I decided that rubies were the one thing I would never yearn for. They are now the only thing that can harm me. Irony at it's best." Her head snapped up.

"Did I tell you where a vampires' name comes from?" She asked me, her gaze focusing on mine for a moment.

"No." I answered, but her eyes had clouded again, and she returned to the past.

"The first name of a vampire is the natural substance that can save them. Rose dust protects me from rubies. Ginger root protects Ginger from her Achilles Heel. The middle name is the one thing that can hurt you. The last is the thing you left behind. My full name is Rosedust Ruby Hope. That is why a vampire never tells anyone their full name. It can destroy you. Rose dust will save me. Rubies will kill me. I lost hope in live, and in love the day that my mother died."

"So what does this have to do with Ginger?" I asked, drawing Rose back to the present again.

"We know that her first name is Gingerroot. So we will have to keep that away from her, if it comes to a fight when we find her. Or when she finds us." She told me.

"Okay. What about the rubies? Does that mean she was here and is trying to get our attention?" I questioned. Rose shook her head.

"No. I only ever told one person, besides you, my full name." She looked genuinly fearful. A look I had never seen grace Rose's face, a look I truly never hoped to see again.

"Who?" I demanded sharply, standing up and striding to Rose.

"Vincent."

"That's not his true vampire name, is it?" I asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

"No."

"What is it?" My voice was heavy with defeat.

"Starlight Moonblood Catherine" She answered, her eyes rapidly flashing from their normal piercing green to a rusty red.

"Why is this a problem? Who is this Vincent?"

"Not someone you want to encounter." She hissed and fell silent.


	3. Chapter 3

"Oh, joy." I said sarcastically. Rose glared at me. I ignored this, it was nothing new.

"We need to get out of here." She stated. grabbing her ever present bag and heading to the door. I shook my head, but grabbed a gun and followed her.

Had I been paying more attention I might have heard the faint creak of the floorboards. I might have heard the near-silent whisper of breath. I might have sensed the eyes on my back. But because I wasn't, and I didn't, it is not at all surprising that I jumped when I heard the voice.

"You wouldn't leave without saying goodbye, now would you, Rosedust?"

Rose and I both spun around quickly. Standing before us, was the most beautiful women I had ever seen. Her straight red hair hit right at her chin, with clear blue eyes.

"Hello Vincent." Rose greeted her coldly. I flashed her a look. Vincent was a girl?

"Yes darling, I am." Vincent answered my unasked question.

"How did you...? I didn't..." I stammered, finding myself oddly at a loss for words. Both women rolled their eyes.

"She reads minds Michael." Rose said, her eyes never leaving Vincent's. I nodded my head, still unable to speak.

"Stop playing with him, Vincent." Rose snapped harshly. The other woman ginned, flashing perfect white teeth.

"But, Rosedust dear, it's just so much fun." She sang, the picture innocence. The still coherent part of my mind told me that this image couldn't be more wrong.

"Don't call me that Starlight." Immediately Vincent dropped her playful act. Her eyes flashed from blue to red, and back again. Then she smiled slowly. It was a smile that sent shivers down my spine.

"If you want to play that game Rosedust, then I am happy to oblige." Vincent said. Her voice and her eyes were cold. I had a sudden mental picture of her as an ice queen.

"Leave." Rose ordered. Vincent just smiled again. It was only then that I noticed the black bag she had over one shoulder.

"Bye, Rosedust." She said, walking back toward the balcony. And she disappeared.


End file.
